The Inn on Brookside Estate
T. Tench Murray-Robertson and Olga "Sandy" Sears
183 Route 22A
Orwell, VT 05760
802-948-2211
Belted Galloway cattle; birding at game preserve; hiking, snow shoeing, and skiing on 267 acres of wooded hills and pastures with Adirondack views. Elegant suites with fireplaces in the Manor House and the Guest House. Serving three-course breakfasts. Gourmet dining nearby. 1 room and 5 suites, PB, BP, NS, AC, Wi-Fi.
Entered
October 9, 2007
We have several dozen white snow geese among hundreds of
Canadian
geese feeding in the cornfields or on Henriette's Pond. Stop
by! It's a great photo opportunity.
Entered September 14, 2007
The Inn at Brookside will be open for guests in early October 2007. The restoration and renovation of Brookside is taking much longer than anyone expected. During the sanding and scraping, prior to the painting, another thirty or so rotted areas were found - including fifteen feet of a 9x12 inch sill plate. The dog kennel had extensive rotting in its floor and south wall. The painters removed about a ton of old paint and caulking. Since it may be another year or two before we can remodel the guest house we have decided to use the guest house as is with elegant antiques and new furniture. A wood burning stove will be in the living room. The rates will be $100 per night for a bedroom with private bath in the guest house, $150 per night for a bedroom with private bath in the Manor House, and $200 per night for the three room guest suite in the Manor House; all include a 3 course breakfast. The Manor House will be completely restored by the end of 2007. During 2008 and 2009 the various barns, carriage shed, and guest house will be restored. The old dog runs with their cement runs and chain link fencing is coming down. Next spring a new kitchen garden will surround visitors as they approach the side door. The numerous hillside springs that are topographically above Brookside have caused erosion to the driveway as well as rot to the sill plates of various farm buildings. This fall a system of drainage pipes will be installed which will capture the water and take it to a future pond site. A load of newly cut White Oak planking has arrived for the bridge that leads out to the Western Pastures. Every time I cross the bridge on the old rotting plans covered with several layers of Plywood I think "maybe today I will break through." Over the past several weeks we have spent night and day preparing various rooms at Brookside to be photographed. Brookside will be one of nineteen New England houses to be featured in a new book Great Houses of New England by the noted photographer Geoffrey Gross. The book will be published in 2008 by Rizolli of New York. Brookside is the only house in the Greek Revival style of Architecture to appear in the book. Mr. Gross' two previous books, Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania's Bucks County and Brandywine Valley Rizzoli 2005 and Dutch Colonial Homes in America Rizzoli 2002 are already collector's items and are used as reference books by noted architects. Mr. Gross was very excited to find that Brookside still retained a great deal of its nineteenth Century acreage. He said that most of the houses in his books are "house museums" and are devoid of the feel of a family nor are they functioning farms; in some cases it is hard to obtain a photograph of the house without another house intruding into the picture. In 2008 there will be a public book signing of Great Houses of New England at Brookside. For our guests there will be inscribed copies for sale at Brookside. The vegetable gardens have been very bountiful, producing enough for our own use, for our road side stand as well as farmers' markets. In 2008 there will be more varieties of vegetables as well as chickens and their eggs. Nine of our Belted Galloway cattle are grazing at Brookside. Three others are in Maine being shown at several county fairs. The other day a nice three figure cheque arrived - it was prize money from one of the fairs. Brookside Stock Farm has welcomed various couples for their weddings. Several new vistas are being groomed for wedding sites. We can accommodate two more weddings or commitment ceremonies in 2008.
Entered May
31, 2007
Last Friday, 25 May, Paul Gallo's painting crew arrived at Brookside to
start scraping and sanding prior to applying the primer coat.
The foreman of the painting crew said that he estimated that Brookside
has not been painted in the past 20 to 30 years. The painting crew will
probably be at Brookside for most of the summer. The roofers will soon
return to Brookside to build the new standing seam roof on the north
wing of the Manor House. Also copper gutters and down spouts will be
installed along with "Snow Dogs" on sections of the roof to protect
people on the ground. When the above is done all the roofs on the Manor
House will be like new. This April the roofers rebuilt the rotten roof
on the tool shed. It now has a new cedar shake roof.
When the painters find rotten wood, such as on the North East corner of
the house, Randy Brisson will replace the wood. I have started to clean
out all the dead brush that has been piled in the foundation of the
Morgan horse barn. The 100 x 40 foot barn was taken down in 1947 and
sold for building material. After all of the brush,
including old Christmas trees and the Elm trees that seeded themselves,
are removed the stone foundation walls will be rebuilt. A sunken garden
will be created and dedicated to the Morgan horses of Brookisde;
particularly Ben Franklin and Addison Lambert who were born and died at
Brookside. They are grandsons
of Justin Morgan. The Inn at Brookside can accommodate four weddings in
2009. There are eight different venues for weddings. On Monday, 4 June,
more surveying
will be done at Brookside to determine how to divert the water from
various springs (flow rate 12 gallons per minute) away from the
buildings of Brookside.
Over the years these springs have caused rot to the Carriage Shed and
cow barn. This past winter these springs caused 18 inches of ice to
build up in the driveway
against the garage door. The dairy products used at The Inn at
Brookside will come from cows with NO r-BST in their systems. The honey
and maple syrup which is used in the
Inn are produced at Brookside and are also available for purchase. Soon
the first cutting of our organic hay will occur. Large round bales will
be put up for our herd of Belted Galloway cattle. Small rectangular
bales will be stored in the sheep barn and will be available for sale.
The vegetable gardens are being
planted. Brookside will use its own fruits and vegetables at the Inn.
The Inn at Brookside will serve dinner (and can provide lunch) with
prior reservations to small groups of guests who do not wish to drive.
Such as a group of bicyclists, boaters, or hikers.
Entered
March 20, 2007
Many snowmobiles have been seen
crossing the fields
of Brookside after
the snow storms of March 2007.
Last year's spraying seems to have greatly reduced the caterpillars
that were infesting the Sugar Maples in Addison County.
We have tapped another 500 trees and are hoping for a good sugaring
season. Unfortunately the climate change that is
effecting New England's
winter sports will probably diminish the quantity of Maple Syrup
produced in New England. Restoration
continues on the Manor House at Brookside. The remaining slate roof and
the flat roof over the Guest Suite will be restored and repaired this
spring. On the inside the den and office suite are ready for
paint. The office
is bright and airy with three large windows facing south and west.
The chimney that was removed from the den (probably mid 20th century)
has been replaced and its Jotul stove will provide much warmth and
cheer. In accordance with Brookside's approved Forest Management plan
firewood
will be harvested for our own use and for public sale. The
spring
replanting of the orchards that were in place in the 19th century and
which furnished apples to New York City will be started. Plums, peaches
and
pears will be planted this year and their fruit will be used in the
Inn. A small flock of Heritage chickens will
provide
delicious eggs for
breakfast. Also
a small flock of Heritage turkeys will come to Brookside in the next
year or two. Plans will soon be completed for enlarging and
updating
the kitchen area. Also plans for two guest suites with elevated
ceilings in the 1789 section of Brookside are nearing completion. For
the first time the huge room that is over the garage and the 29 foot
pantry can be entered from the bedrooms.
Entered
September 26, 2006
Restoration work has begun on the manor house at Brookside. At the
moment the slate roof above the third floor library is being restored.
It is
estimated that 15% of the slates are: broken, cracked, or missing (a
total of 850 slates). We have discovered that previous repairs were
poorly done; plywood under the slate where there should be one inch
pine boards and numerous broken slates were "repaired" with silicon
caulking. After the slate roof is repaired each of the roofs of the one
story wings will be replaced with metal standing seam roofing. Also the
19th century chimneys for each wing
will be replaced. They were probably removed in mid 20th century. A
water well was recently drilled in the "Peninsula Pasture" for our
Belted Galloway cattle who will arrive
this month from Aldermere Farm in Rockport, Maine. Great Blue Herons
are seen on a daily basis feeding in the pond that borders the
"Peninsula Pasture." Last week we saw fourteen Snowy Egrets feeding in
the pond. More clearing of the overgrown gardens is occurring. Soon a
large order of
daffodils will arrive from Brent and Becky's Bulbs in Gloucester,
Virgina for fall planting.
Entered
September 5, 2006
This past October
Brookside was purchased by T.
Tench Murray-Robertson and
Olga Sears. They have reached back into the second half of the 19th
century to give Brookside its former name
Brookside Stock Farm. They plan on continuing the annual Civil War
re-enactment in the North West pastures of the
property. (See September 9-10, 2006 event listing) Soon restoration
will begin on the manor house at Brookside. The three room 1st floor
suite will have a new bath, the wood burning
fireplace will be reinstalled.
The suite will be available in mid October to early November 2006. The
elegant remodeling of the guest
house will commence in early 2007. Soon
Belted Galloway cattle will be grazing on the newly fenced Peninsula
pasture. Slowly the gardens are being reclaimed and planted with the
professional help of North Hill Garden Design, Inc.
Key to Lodging Services:
Listings indicate offered services at a particular establishment. Contact individual providers for full details on availability and pricing.
- MAP: Modified American Plan (breakfast and dinner)
- AP: American Plan (three meals)
- BP: Breakfast Plan (full breakfast)
- CP: Continental Plan (pastry, juice, and another beverage)
- EP: European Plan (no meals)
- PB: Private Bath
- SB: Shared Bath
- NS: No Smoking
- AC: Air Conditioning
NOTE: Prices and services subject to change.